Protocol examined in Coshocton pursuit

While the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Department has been cleared of any criminal conduct in the shooting of David “D.J.” Stahl II, a 20-year-old Killbuck man who died March 27, officials are investigating whether deputies followed the appropriate protocol in pursuing him.

By Meghan Millea

Times Reporter

By Meghan Millea

Posted Jun. 2, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 2, 2013 at 2:11 AM

By Meghan Millea

Posted Jun. 2, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 2, 2013 at 2:11 AM

COSHOCTON

While the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Department has been cleared of any criminal conduct in the shooting of David “D.J.” Stahl II, a 20-year-old Killbuck man who died March 27, officials are investigating whether deputies followed the appropriate protocol in pursuing him.

On March 26, a New Concord police officer pursued Stahl after witnessing him run a red light. He followed Stahl, who was driving a red and tan Chevrolet pickup truck, into Coshocton County, where he called off his pursuit because he was unfamiliar with the area.

The pursuit was continued by Coshocton County deputies and ended when Stahl was shot four times and killed.

To avoid a conflict of interest, Coshocton County Sheriff Timothy Rogers asked the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association to conduct an internal investigation. Tuscarawas County Sheriff Walt Wilson’s department was selected, with Chief Deputy Orvis Campbell serving as the lead investigator.

“My investigation pertains only to their internal policies and whether they were followed,” said Campbell, who has reviewed audio and video from the incident, as well as the written policies of the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Department.

Campbell said he couldn’t comment further, only that he hoped to have his report completed and turned into the Coshocton department soon.

PURSUIT

Nearly 300 people are killed as a result of police pursuits every year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Police in Pursuit 1982 to 2011” report.

In 2011, 303 people died as a result of a police chase, with Ohio ranking sixth for fatalities. In Ohio, 13 were killed, nine of whom were not in the chased vehicle, and no police were killed.

The fatal pursuit, involving Stahl, began around 9:30 p.m. March 26 in Muskingum County, when a New Concord police officer saw him run a red light and go left of center, swerving into traffic.

Stahl didn’t pull over, but continued driving north toward Coshocton.

New Concord police contacted Coshocton dispatchers to inform them Stahl was headed northbound on state Route 83, toward Coshocton County.

“I want to give you the heads up. I got a New Concord officer trying to stop a truck — unsuccessfully — all over the roadway. He ran a couple lights,” according to a dispatch recording obtained by The Times-Reporter. “I didn’t know if you guys wanted to send somebody down along the county line — just in case.”

Coshocton County deputies were notified and made plans to head south on state Route 83 to locate the suspect.

Dispatch recordings revealed the New Concord officer secured the vehicle’s license plate number and description of the truck before Stahl crossed the Muskingum County line into Coshocton.

The officer told dispatch that Stahl was driving 55 mph, the speed limit, on those roads.

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“The last rate of speed he called out was approximately 55,” according to the dispatch recording.

The officer alerted dispatchers that the pursuit had gone into Coshocton County. “All right,” the dispatcher responded. “We have guys headed that way.”

Shortly afterward, the New Concord officer said he decided to end his pursuit, realizing that he wasn’t familiar with Coshocton County roads. Coshocton deputies picked up the pursuit after spotting Stahl on U.S. Route 36.

Lt. Dean Hettinger, of the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Department, said there could be many reasons New Concord discontinued its pursuit of Stahl, safety being the primary factor. He said the officer, who may not have been familiar with Coshocton County roads, could have compromised his ability to safely apprehend the suspect.

Coshocton County deputies resumed the pursuit, however.

“They had originally asked for our assistance, so our officers were dispatched to the area to look for the vehicle,” Hettinger said.

“If a vehicle is lost or pursuit is terminated (and) an officer sees or finds the vehicle, we attempt to do a traffic stop,” he said.

But what started as a traffic stop took a tragic turn.

According to dash camera footage, deputies located Stahl on U.S. 36, and attempted to pull him over. Instead he rammed a deputy’s cruiser, which crashed into a cement barrier. The other cruiser knocked Stahl’s truck off the road and into a grassy embankment. The camera footage shows Stahl driving toward the deputies, who had exited their cruisers to apprehend him. He was shot four times.

When Stahl was removed from the pickup, deputies discovered he wasn’t armed. It was later determined that Stahl didn’t have drugs or alcohol in his system.

“Nobody has a crystal ball,” Hettinger said. “There is a reason typically why someone is running from or evading police.”

Hettinger’s sentiments are shared by Mike McCauley, the first vice president of the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association, and Guernsey County’s sheriff.

After a minor traffic violation, such as running a traffic light. most people stop, McCauley told The Times-Reporter.

If a person doesn’t stop, McCauley said, the officer would have a lot of questions. “What are they hiding? What are we not seeing? Does the person not have a license? Are there drugs in the car? ... Did this person just rob a place? Is there narcotics in the car? These are tangibles that officers have to look at,” he said.

After 35 years in law enforcement, McCauley said there’s no such thing as a routine stop. “What might seem innocent and tranquil might end up being that officer’s last moment.”

Once a pursuit begins, McCauley said it can last “awhile” and often end in an accident. He said high speeds are a major factor in those crashes.

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“I’ve seen pursuits go through multiple counties and out of state,” he said.

When a pursuit does go through other jurisdictions, McCauley said, it’s not uncommon to allow other law enforcement agencies to take over, with exceptions of obvious felonies, such as the shooting of an officer.

“The initiating officer may choose to back down and let the local jurisdiction pick up on that (pursuit),” he said.

McCauley said a lot of decisions about pursuits boil down to common sense and training as most agencies have pursuit policies.

FELONY ASSAULT

Coshocton Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Sharrock, Deputy Ernest Snyder and Deputy Dave Stone were near the end of their shifts when they were notified by dispatchers that the suspect was northbound on state Route 83. Sharrock later told the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation that it was his intention to stop the truck by deploying stop sticks.

“My intention was to stop the vehicle with as little property damage as possible and also thinking of the driver of the truck also,” Sharrock said in his written report obtained by The Times-Reporter. “I didn’t want the vehicle hitting a house or flipping over a guardrail, causing serious injury.”

However, there wouldn’t be an opportunity to deploy the stop sticks. Stahl switched directions and drove toward state Route 93 and turned onto U.S. Route 36.

Deputies spotted Stahl’s truck and turned on their lights. Police presence didn’t stop Stahl. That’s when the pursuit took a deadly turn.

“It appeared to me that he was looking at a cellphone, because I could see the light from the screen,” Sharrock said. “The driver made no attempt to slow down or stop. I then pulled in front of the pickup in hopes that he would stop when he realized that there were marked cruisers with light bars activated.

“I tried to keep some distance between myself and the pickup truck, and the driver still wasn’t making any attempt to slow down or stop. The driver of the truck then struck me in the rear. I then accelerated to put some distance between us. The driver of the truck then accelerated, pulled up on my left and struck me again,” Sharrock continued.

“This time, it was a very hard blow to the left side of my cruiser, causing it to hit the concrete barrier head-on and went into a spin, coming to rest facing northeast.”

Assault with a vehicle is considered to be a felony offense and, according to the Coshocton County sheriff’s policy manual, can warrant the use of deadly force. Snyder, who was driving the other cruiser, performed a quick maneuver to knock Stahl’s truck off the road. That’s when the accompanying officer, Stone, and his canine companion, Dingo, exited their cruiser and moved toward the truck. Snyder also exited his vehicle in an attempt to complete a felony arrest, , according to his taped testimony made to a BCI agent.